


my treasure is this moment (i'm glad i lived today)

by daisy (midnightbutlers)



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Couch Cuddles, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Female Pronouns for Narukami Arashi, Implied/Referenced Sex, Multi, Poly Knights, Polyamory, very distinct show of senanaru and izuritsu, very vague references though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:35:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29811291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightbutlers/pseuds/daisy
Summary: the moment she’d gotten backstage is when everything seemed to go black.no matter how hard she tried, arashi truly could not recall anything that had happened directly after the fanmeet had finished.arashi collapses after a knights fanmeet, and in her moments of hazy recollection as she wakes up, there is always a member of knights beside her...or rather, she realises that her fellow knights arealwaysbeside her no matter what.
Relationships: Narukami Arashi/Sakuma Ritsu/Sena Izumi/Suou Tsukasa/Tsukinaga Leo
Kudos: 25





	my treasure is this moment (i'm glad i lived today)

**Author's Note:**

> i didn't actually intend this for arashi's birthday, but the stars aligned and i somehow managed to finish it today w
> 
> tw ;  
> arashi passes out in this due to dieting and whilst it isn't anything eating disorder related, i feel it appropriate just to add warning. extremely brief discussion of calories (one sentence) and for the most part, the dieting isn't actually discussed any further than ritsu and arashi speaking in the bedroom together. regardless, if that sort of thing triggers you then please be careful :)  
> 

“uuu…”

“ _like i said_ , she’ll try to get up if you do that!” a sigh in exasperation, “seriously, i’m telling you to leave it to me!” 

where was she? arashi had no idea. the voices around her were mixing together, any chance she had of identifying them quickly dwindling.

 _what’s the last thing you remember?_ she vaguely recalled that knights had a fanmeet that day, the queues jam-packed as usual. she’d peeked out behind the curtains to see how many there were, pleased to see so much of their princes and princesses, clad in knights merch - a few were even in cosplay. one of their songs was playing too, perhaps fight for judge? her hazy mind couldn’t remember that much, but seeing the fans happily sing along, words committed to memory was something she couldn’t forget.

it was always a heart-warming sight to see how much their fans truly doted on them. arashi could easily say she felt the same way, as did her fellow unit mates.

as for the actual fanmeet event itself, she’d definitely gone through with it, right? several names filtered through her mind, tales of how they found knights and how much the group meant to them, how they’d saved so many individuals that were once alone on the battlefield. the numerous questions she was asked were also coming back to her: _who do you get on with the most?_ _arashi-sama, what skincare products do you use?_ _favourite song on the album?_ _HiMeru from crazy:b mentioned you on an interview! are you two friends?_

she always enjoyed meeting fans in situations like this, their pure adoration of knights and of _narukami arashi_ as an idol made her maiden heart swell with love. the gifts they gave them stuck out in her mind too, ranging from _how much did this cost you we can’t accept this holy shit_ to heavenly amusing. the memory of izumi using the microphone to say _”put on the cat ears, kasa-kun”_ vaguely made itself known in her mind, alongside ritsu and leo watching on in pure amusement with their own fan-gifted cat ears on. small moments like that were slowly coming back to her, remembering how well the fanmeet had gone.

the moment she’d gotten backstage is when everything seemed to go black. 

no matter how hard she tried, arashi truly could not recall anything that had happened directly after the fanmeet had finished. 

upon trying to open her eyes, she was immediately hit with the stinging pain that came with seeing light so suddenly. she let out a hiss, hearing “ _shit._ naru-kun stop _moving,_ for fucks sake!” that voice was distinctly sena izumi’s. it came from above her, although still in fairly close proximity. it was then she realised the way her head was being cushioned, the surface not hard enough to be the floor but not soft enough either to be anything like a pillow or a cushion. was she resting her head on izumi’s thighs? 

“ _secchan,_ the car’s here.” a second voice spoke, discernibly belonging to sakuma ritsu. it lacked his usual bite and confidence, although he still sounded as if he was trying to remain strong for knights’ sake. as expected of ritsu - she would’ve sat up to praise him if her body didn’t feel so _horrifically_ heavy. “is she awake?” 

“barely. c’mon naru-kun, we’ve got to get you up somehow.” 

there was a hand on her cheek, rubbing her skin slowly yet comfortingly. she knew ritsu’s touch well, instinctively leaning into it like she’d always done, “mhm, things will be easier if you let yourself relax nacchan. sleep~” ritsu’s hand was cold against her cheek, a welcomed sensation considering how much hotter her body seemed to be getting. “i promise you we’ll still be here when you wake up.”

izumi let out a hum in agreement, “mhm. naru-kun’s smart enough to know that already, right?” izumi complimenting her so earnestly? arashi really _had_ to be dreaming. the kind affirmations from two people she trusted so incredibly dearly was enough for her to relax. even if she hardly knew what was going on still, izumi and ritsu were here with her. they promised they’d stay here with her, and she trusted that.

…

...by the time she found herself conscious again, the bustling voices surrounding her before had disappeared. 

it immediately became clear to her that she was in some sort of moving vehicle. she was still laying down on her back, resting on thighs that were somewhat more plump than izumi’s had been. her body still felt heavy, although it was definitely improving. 

she cracked an eye open, light blue meeting lavender. 

“narukami-senpai.” tsukasa’s smile was always a delight to wake up to, its youthful kindness reserved only for them. “my apologies if the [ride] woke you up.” 

“tsu...kasa-chan.” the moment she spoke, tsukasa’s smile grew concerned. he brought his hand to her forehead, small sigh leaving his mouth. did she have a fever? sure, her body didn’t feel quite right, but she’d braved sickness and fevers in her youth - whatever she was feeling right now didn’t come close to those experiences.

tsukasa said something in a low voice to the person, maybe people if she focused hard enough, in the front of the car before turning his attention back to arashi. “please don’t force yourself to wake up, senpai. we’ll be at our [location] soon...i believe.” he glanced upwards to the people in the driver section, arashi able to hear him properly as he asked, “how much longer, ritsu-senpai?” 

“hmm...10 minutes, probably. sorry nacchan, hang in there a little longer?” she hardly knew what ritsu was apologising for, but lacked the strength to ask further. 

“you should let yourself sleep again. the longer you stay awake in your [condition], the worse you will feel-”

in her growing bleariness, she made out someone hitting tsukasa’s arm, eliciting an offended gasp from the junior. 

“don’t lecture her, kasa-kun. just let her go back to sleep, yeah?” the scolding from izumi had tsukasa pouting a little, but ultimately he resigned from what he’d been saying before. instead, he mumbled out an apology for only arashi’s ears, keeping his hand on her forehead. she was thankful - her junior’s hand wasn’t as cold as ritsu’s, but tsukasa was the kind to be stingy with skinship if they were in public so having him initiate contact was already a dream come true in its own right. 

everyone’s voices were growing further away from her acknowledgement, only being able to make out small parts of conversations as her eyes fluttered back closed.

“-here, turn here tsukippi.” 

“‘kay! geez, the sakuma house……..as usual, huh?” 

“you called someone, right? we….....by ourselves.” 

the last thing she recalled was the car coming to a gradual stop. where? she hadn’t a clue. by the sounds of it though, every member of knights appeared to be in the car with her. even leo, who was the only one she hadn’t encountered in her current frenzy, seemed to be present upfront. _how homely this feels_ she thought to herself, relaxing into her spot on tsukasa’s thighs.

...

......

..............when she next woke up, it wasn’t a pair of thighs her head was resting on. plush, satin sheets covered her body, with the upper part of her body being supported by a multitude of pillows. 

her head didn’t hurt as badly as it did before. it was a significantly easier task just to open her eyes, gaze settling on the silky lace material doused across the canopy of the bed. this was a scene she’d become much more used to seeing in her second year at yumenosaki. nonetheless, it was as comforting as a scene as it had ever been. 

arashi turned onto her side, eyes widening as dazzling red pierced her gaze.

“ritsu-chan.”

ritsu smiled lazily at her, “yo.” he was wide awake, arashi wondering just how long he’d been watching over her for. she smiled back, attempting to sit up, “wait, nacchan-” _bad call._ the feeling was akin to that of standing up too quickly, vision blurring temporarily. ritsu was at her side instantly, his hand gripping arashi’s bicep tightly enough to ground her.

“goodness me...what is _wrong_ with me?” she sighed. ritsu prodded her, capturing her attention again as he pushed something into her hands. she glanced at it curiously - it was just a standard glass cup, filled with some sort of red liquid she couldn’t make out. surely...ritsu wasn’t trying to feed her blood, right? the thought was morbid, although her trust in her fellow third year ultimately won. with laggy movement, she lifted the cup to her lips, letting the liquid fill her mouth and spill down her throat.

_cherry soda._

it was funny. she used to love cherry soda. memories flooded her mind: skipping knights practice in her first year with ritsu, hiding behind the back of the school, cherry soda cans clinking together as they celebrated getting out of seeing the shitty former knights again. there were the times too where she’d run to the soda machine, returning back to class and placing one as gently as she could on mika’s desk - _"one melon soda for you, and one cherry soda for me! i’m not letting you faint on me that easily, mika-chan~!"_

when was the last time she’d had it, she wondered? arashi was the type of person to let herself indulge in excess sugar rarely. the scales weren’t kind, and their managers could be even worse. 

she glanced up at ritsu, the vampire in question still smiling easily at her. if anyone else had remembered something so trivial about her, she’d be surprised. ritsu’s perceptiveness was nothing short of amazing to her.

“that helped, right?” he asked, seemingly already knowing her answer. her vision had returned back to normal, body beginning to feel like it was her own again. she nodded slowly, taking another sip of the cherry soda for good measure, “glad to hear it~. nacchan, can you eat at all?” 

“mhm...it’d depends.” ritsu’s gaze narrowed, but he didn’t say anything further. she watched him reach for something behind him, mumbling a quiet _wait a moment~_ as she sat in wait. ritsu had peaked her interest, his alluring tone of voice drawing her in.

she hardly had any time to react before ritsu had turned around, his hand an inch away from her mouth.

“open up nacchan.” he smiled wide, baring his fangs as he did so. she was taken aback for a moment, eyes warily travelling down to what ritsu was attempting to feed her. it was a cookie, small and rather plain. it was so inoffensive that she wanted to laugh. she was so used to having the dark haired boy offer her sweets and cakes that looked like they belonged in one of the circles of hell that a part of her had to wonder if she was still sleeping. it wouldn’t be too far-fetched, a lot of her dreams pertaining to her fellow knight members taking care of her though...she had that in reality too, didn’t she?

arashi parted her lips, allowing ritsu easier access as he fed her the cookie. 

_sweet._ it wasn’t too flavorful, yet helped fill her up immensely. it wasn’t nearly as good as anything ritsu had made for her, but being fed by him was enough to satisfy that greedy side of her. 

“it’s pretty yummy, isn’t it? suu-chan and tsukippi picked them out.” ritsu hummed, clearly pleased arashi was enjoying it. that made sense - she categorised leo and tsukasa by their love of cheaper sweets, the former having little to no preference food-wise and the latter being sheltered for so long that experiencing commoner food felt like a privilege. “there’s more where that came from.” 

ritsu must’ve sat there feeding her these small cookies for a few minutes. she was pleased to stay like that, opening wide as ritsu seemed equally happy to pamper her. arashi couldn’t help but humor the idea of all of knights indulging in her like this, although it was definitely nothing more than just a pipe dream fantasy. she considered herself lucky that she and ritsu were so easily able to accommodate each other's needs like this, at least, although-

“wait a minute. ritsu-chan.” ritsu paused, sound of acknowledgement leaving his lips, “i like whatever this is, but you haven’t explained to me what’s going on? why are we at your house?” 

it was somewhat amusing, in a twisted way, to see ritsu’s expression become so dumbfounded. he studied her face for any trace of deceit or humor, folding his arms when he’d determined there was none. “you really don’t remember anything from today, do you nacchan?” she shook her head. he sighed, although not unkindly.

“you passed out after our fanmeet ended today.” he stated it matter-of-factly, recalling the events in his own mind, “the staff wanted to take you to the hospital but we...or rather, _secchan_ was heavily against it. something about you feeling uncomfortable in hospital beds…” her blood ran cold at that, grip around the glass cup strengthening. the thought of waking up surrounded by white walls, disappointed looks from the doctors, her unit members and eventually, one of her modelling managers, too much to bear. she wondered if izumi knew her well, or simply shared the same sort of worries she did. 

“it took a _lot_ of arguing, but we were allowed to bring you back here to rest instead.” here being the sakuma abode. “consider yourself lucky you don’t remember it. mikejimaman carried you to the car the first time around, then i had to get one of our servants to carry you up here.” she gaped at that confession, praying none of the fans had seen her in such an unsightly state. she also made a mental note to thank madara when she next saw him, knowing she wasn’t as light as someone like leo, for instance.

hearing that she’d passed out in such a risky place was horrible. she hadn’t collapsed properly in front of anyone for years, so doing it so suddenly in front of both staff and her beloved unit mates was a lot to process at once. she nodded warily at ritsu’s explanation, slow “i...see. i’m sorry, ritsu-chan” falling from her lips. 

“mm, it’s fine. you drank and ate when i asked you to. that’s an apology enough for me.” ritsu smiled, patting her on the head as if to drive home the fact he wasn’t mad. his smile wavered somewhat as he continued to speak, “if anything, i should be apologising to _you_ nacchan.” 

“...to me? you haven’t done anything wrong, ritsu-chan.” ritsu shook his head, lowering his gaze guiltily. 

“i noticed you looked off earlier, but didn’t get to you in time.” he paused for a moment, “i should’ve spoken to you sooner about it.” she knew from the way ritsu refused to meet her eyes that this was something he’d been mulling over for a while, letting the guilt fester in his mind before coming clean. 

the apology still wasn’t something she understood, but it would be wrong of her to brush away ritsu’s sincerity. she took another sip from her glass before passing the finished contents over to ritsu. “i’m fine now, aren’t i? you don’t need to beat yourself up over it anymore.” she held her hand out, ritsu immediately lacing his own hand in hers. 

“mm. i suppose i don’t.” he agreed, although arashi could tell there was still something on his mind. she stayed quiet, waiting patiently for him to speak again. “...you’re an idiot, nacchan.” 

_well._ that definitely wasn’t what she expected him to say. the comment was said without vitriol or malice, yet she found herself frowning nonetheless. it wasn’t like ritsu to say such things in a serious tone like that after all. 

“you sound like izumi-chan when you say that.” she paused, “why do you think i’m an idiot?”

ritsu didn’t speak immediately. he reached over to get another cookie, arashi eating it without complaints. he stayed quiet as she finished the treat, brows quirked in curiosity.

“did you know the average person needs around 150 calories of sugar per day?” he suddenly spoke up, gaze not meeting arashi’s as he bit into his own cookie. she tilted her head in curiosity, “i read it in one of anija’s books when i was younger. sure, people can survive on less every once in a while but…”

arashi felt her heart plummet in her chest. _ah._ so that’s what this was about. as a model, diets were standard - hell, they were commonplace in the idol industry too. it was a route she and izumi chose to go down more often than their fellow unit mates, knowing the risks and the pay-offs better than anyone else. she knew best that holding off of sugar in its entirety these past few days was a brash decision, yet had done it anyway. was ritsu calling her stupid for her recent decisions, or for thinking he wouldn’t find out? 

ritsu’s eyes met hers again, gaze still as gentle as it had been before. his thumb traced over arashi’s knuckles, touch soft and comforting as if to tell her to calm down - _”i’m not mad nacchan. please talk to me.”_ went unsaid, yet she understood it well. 

“that’s...why i passed out, isn’t it?” she spoke quietly, ritsu nodding in response. she’d suspected it the moment her fellow third year began feeding her sugary stuff, but having it confirmed out loud changed the atmosphere completely. “did i worry everyone?”

“mhm. we’d be worried regardless though.” 

that was true. it was funny how knights were a group of individualists, yet they’d managed to drift so close together in the span of 2-3 years. she’d lost count of the amount of conversations she’d had with ritsu and tsukasa, hushed tones as they spoke concerned for izumi and leo’s relationship even if they were countries apart from the three of them, or the times she would excuse herself from unit practice at yumenosaki to phone izumi, whispering _”tsukasa-chan’s overwhelming himself again. ritsu-chan and i don’t know what to do.”_ even the moments ritsu would admit to her that he needed some kind of attention, letting the vampire use her as a pillow as he mumbled thank yous into her chest - individualists be damned, they weren’t the kind of unit to brave issues alone. 

no, she knew that well. it was the sort of thing that saw the lead-up to requiem get so heated. even if they knew each other as well as they did, it didn’t mean much if she wasn’t honest, right?

a squeeze to her hand brought her back to reality.

“nacchan’s thinking too much.” ritsu tongue sat peeking out on the corner of his lips, gaze softening, “cookie for your thoughts?” 

“bribery? i didn’t think you were the type, ritsu-chan.” she smiled, appreciating the attempt to lighten the mood, “...i am alright, you know. i know what i did was concerning, but i really _am_ alright.”

“we know that. nacchan’s still stupid for doing it though.” 

she moved herself forward enough to let go of ritsu’s hand, instead choosing to wrap her arms around the somewhat smaller boy’s frame. “you’re right. onee-chan’s _pretty_ stupid.”

“pretty.”

“fufu, that too. pretty _and_ stupid, the perfect girlfriend.” 

ritsu saw no issue with that, laugh leaving his mouth, although being muffled somewhat by his face in arashi’s shoulder. it was a sound she adored, ritsu’s voice as silky smooth as the sheets he’d adorned her with. everyday, she was reminded of exactly why the public knew him as the _seducer_ of knights.

“you know,” ritsu eventually started, removing himself from arashi’s shoulder, “the room next to us is still full of men worried about their _perfect girlfriend._ ”

 _oh shit._ it was really all coming back to her now - the car ride, everyone was there, right? they were likely still under the impression she was asleep, neither her or ritsu giving them the news that she was up and raring to go now. 

“have they been waiting in there for a while? really...i feel rather bad now.”

ritsu shook his head, “don’t feel bad. they’d be willing to wait forever for you, nacchan.” he chuckled, gaze travelling to the door, “they wanted to be in here with you too, but it might’ve overwhelmed you so...i banished them to the guest room.” 

the action would’ve sounded harsh if arashi had no knowledge of the sakuma household. they used to hole up in the guest room and the adjacent grand guest bedroom that she wasn’t as worried as she was before. it was a fairly homely living room like setting next door, set up just like any modern family’s room would look like. she had no doubt izumi, leo and tsukasa were comfortable with that sort of stuff next door.

...they’d be a lot _more_ comforted if they knew she was okay, right? 

“ritsu-chan?” another hum in acknowledgement, “i want to get up and see the others.” 

she needn’t have voiced that desire, ritsu clearly feeling the same as he laughed again - it was a louder one this time, reflective of a boy who had regained his typical easy-going liveliness when the sun departed. she caught a glimpse of his fangs as he grinned, upbeat glint in those red eyes. for someone who had spent so long hiding in the darkness, ritsu shined so brightly in his own right. he took her hands in his once again, this time helping to pull arashi up with him. “ _up we go then._ ” he sang out.

arashi walked hand in hand with ritsu, taking charge as they pushed open the guest bedroom door together. 

the door itself wasn’t loud, but the moment they entered the room, all eyes were on arashi. even someone as proud and self-confident as herself couldn’t help but go pink at such attention. 

“h-”

“ _naru-kun, you’re an idiot!_ ” she hardly had time to brace herself before izumi’s arms suddenly wrapped around her frame, pulling her into a tight hug. “a major, _major_ idiot…” his words trailed off, choosing to focus his energy on holding arashi close to him instead.

without noticing it, ritsu had let go of her hand, cackling to himself about _secchan’s clinginess_ before stringing himself over one of the sofas. 

he wasn’t wrong - izumi was being particularly retentive, much more than usual, but she couldn’t blame him. they’d known each other for so long, had seen each other at such immensely low, fucked up points of life that she knew. there was no malice in his words at all, just pure concern, _fear_ even. he wasn’t crying, but arashi could tell he was holding it back as best he could.

“i am an idiot, izumi-chan.” she nodded, her arms slinking behind the silver-haired boy’s back in return, “forgive your stupid onee-chan, just this once?” izumi let out some sort of noise, akin to either a sob or a laugh. she didn’t relinquish her grasp to check. 

“just this once.” 

_always, naru-kun_ went unsaid. she knew it well already.

as she continued to let izumi embrace her, over his shoulder she locked eyes with leo and tsukasa. the former waved happily at her, green eyes practically sparkling in joy seeing arashi both awake and undisturbed. his hands changed to make peace signs, the ginger mouthing _”uchuu!”_ in her direction. she tried to hold back laughter, though she couldn’t help but smile. there was a certain normalcy in leo’s typical upbeat greeting that truly made her feel like she would be okay no matter what, surrounded by the people she’d chosen to find a home in.

“thank you for telling them not to put me in a hospital.” 

izumi pulled back at that, able to face her with what had to have been a genuine smile, “duh. even someone like _you_ wouldn’t be able to pull off scrubs.” she laughed, happy to hear izumi’s usual insulting personality make its return. 

“what are you talking about sena?” leo piped up, “naru can pull off _anything!_ ” 

from his seat on the sofa, ritsu snorted, “ _yeah_ she can.” izumi’s response was immediate, marching over to the vampire and pinching his cheek _hard_. “get your mind out of the gutter, damn kuma-kun!” she watched the two of them begin to scuffle in what could only be described as the world’s most pathetic play fight ever. 

she joined leo and tsukasa on the other sofa, being pulled into another hug by leo. 

“naru~!” leo sang, his grip tight as usual. “i’m happy you’re alive!”

“of course i am. onee-chan can’t be killed off _that_ easily, you know.” 

leo’s laughter was something she was always happy to hear. it was rambunctious sort of laugh, as loud and bubbly as the man himself. “haha, you’re right! no knight would go down without a fight, as expected!” his bright smile then shifted into a mock pout, “i _wanted_ to kiss you when you came out, but sena and suo~ got all snappy at me for it. _who’d wanna get kissed by you after waking up_ , can you believe sena said that to me?!” she chuckled. she definitely could. reading inbetween the lines, it seemed a lot more like they truly didn’t want to run any risk of overwhelming her, and she knew well that leo was aware of that. 

“i would _never_ say no to a kiss from you, leo-chan. you’ve been so busy holed up in florence, it feels like i haven’t had one in ages.” she was exaggerating the last point a bit, but leo didn’t seem to mind at all. he grinned happily, leaning forward enough to capture arashi’s lips in a kiss. it was a soft kiss, especially by leo’s standards - his lips were slightly chapped ( _really, she’d have to nag him about that later_ ) but the kiss was nice nonetheless, brisk and welcoming. the older boy’s tongue didn’t enter his mouth, choosing to savor arashi just like this. she had no complaints, feeling lucky to be one of the few people who got to see this side of tsukinaga leo.

a particularly loud cough saw the two of them separating, gaze now directed at the source of the distraction.

“ _leo-senpai._ if you would [stop] keeping narukami-senpai to yourself, that would be appreciated.” tsukasa sat with his arms folded, lips downturned into a frown, “you aren’t the only one who missed her.”

the confession had arashi’s cheeks reddening in color, delighted smile widening on her face, “tsukasa-chan, come here~” she beckoned him with her free arm, the other wrapped firmly around leo. he moved to sit directly beside her with ease, “i’m sorry for worrying you too, honey. i don’t want to see _any_ signs of stress on that beautiful face of yours, _ever!_ ” 

“i think that’s easier said than done.” tsukasa spoke so bluntly that she couldn’t hold back a chuckle, leo sharing the sentiment. “it’s my duty to worry about you though, both as knights’ leader and...as a [lover].” 

“he said the thing!” leo applauded, ducking his body out of arashi’s grasp to drape himself across his two junior’s laps. “your other lovers were here too, suo~! i offered to kiss you too, didn’t i? don’t say you just forgot about it, that’d _seriously_ break my heart.”

tsukasa grimaced, dignified sigh slipping from his mouth, “you kiss me all the time leo-senpai! i was _really_ worried about narukami-senpai at the time so of _course_ i would [deny] you.” whilst his words seemed harsh, the hand that he had brought up to stroke leo’s cheek destroyed that illusion completely. their former king let out another laugh, giddy as he insisted tsukasa make it up to him later. as much as tsukasa tried to remain composed, arashi knew he’d make good on leo’s demands. she would’ve felt left out, if not for the way tsukasa leant himself on her shoulder. “are you feeling better, senpai?” 

“mhm, definitely.” she nodded, “i hope you haven’t been too worried about me in here though. ritsu-chan said everything was fine but...not apologising wouldn’t be fitting of me.” 

“it’s fine, it’s fine! the fact naru’s alive and well before us is the best gift any knight could ask for.” leo hummed, voice lowering slightly as continued to speak, “just between us though, sena was the most worried.” her gaze flickered to where izumi and ritsu sat on the adjacent sofa, the former sat comfortably in ritsu’s lap as the vampire peppered his cheeks with kisses, much to his chagrin. 

“izumi-chan was…?”

arashi didn’t miss the way tsukasa and leo shared looks, mixture of uncertainty and awkwardness. 

tsukasa took this as opportunity to speak first, making sure his voice was quiet enough for it not to reach izumi and ritsu’s ears, “back at the fanmeet venue, sena-senpai refused to leave your side, even when mikejima-senpai had to carry you to the car.” he glanced up at arashi, taking her silence as confirmation she at least she about madara’s aid, “he was...very stressed in here with us too.”

“mhm, he wasn’t even _trying_ to insult us. suo~ and i cuddled him for while since he wouldn’t really respond to anything else.” a pause, before leo’s gaze softened, “sena’s may be foul-mouthed, but he really cares about you. naru and sena have history together, right?” 

they did. that was...information that surprised her a lot more than she expected, to be honest. even though she’d seen the full extent of concern that washed over izumi when one of their beloved members was in some sort of peril, knowing that it was levied at her in this instance was still shocking to hear. 

“it’s not like we weren’t _all_ worried about you though. we all love you naru!” the ginger haired boy reached out his hand to arashi, her taking it in her own wordlessly. “any problems or worries you have, we’ll take on and help you fight head on, so speak to us next time, yeah?” she noted the seriousness leo ended his words off on. her thumb caressed leo’s knuckles, tracing the calluses and scars that held stories not yet revealed to her. his hands were a little cold, but when the warmth of her hands met his, the feeling was close to perfection. 

“okay. i can do that.” she smiled, leo’s expression brightening again. 

“great! i love you naru~!” he sang, eyes twinkling in that characteristic _hang on i’m getting inspiration for a song_ way they typically did. his gaze travelled to their youngest member, laughing as he snuggled into the hand on his cheek, “don’t pull that face! i love you too suo~! if you don’t believe me, just wait - i’ll show you a masterpiece, i’ll pour out my entire heart if you so desire it!” 

“yes yes, i believe you senpai.” tsukasa huffed, beginning to smile again himself. his own cheeks were flushed at the sudden attention, distinctly matching his hair. arashi unhooked her arm from around their junior’s shoulder, using her now free arm to pinch his rosy cheeks. “you should keep some of that heart for yourself though and- _ouch!_ narukami-senpai, please do not pinch my cheeks?” 

she chuckled, voicing her own thoughts “sorry. tsukasa-chan’s just super adorable, isn’t he leo-chan~?” leo nodded, seeming to be equally ready to delve into how much he adored their youngest boyfriend when he was so emotionally vulnerable like this. 

tsukasa put an end to that as quickly as he could, coughing in awkward embarrassment. he mumbled something about being bullied by his seniors before pointedly looking away at them, gaze diverted to the other sofa.

izumi and ritsu looked like they were still in their own little world. the former had stopped complaining about the kisses by now, although they seemed to no longer be exchanging any words between them. izumi sat comfortably in ritsu’s lap, letting the ebony haired boy kiss him from time to time, the latter chuckling to himself as he did so. 

it looked like a cosy moment that they were sharing. she supposed when they were isolated 1 on 1, all of them tended to interact differently with each other when things got intimate - ritsu and izumi’s relationship was...one she couldn’t explain too well. it was less of the _don’t question izuleo none of us know what’s happening there_ and more of it being quite a shock to her to see the two of them click so quickly in the aftermath of requiem.

it was nice to see them sharing a moment, although… 

she met leo’s gaze, the older boy taking a moment to realise what she and tsukasa wanted before he let out a quiet “ohh”, deciding to take the initiative himself.

“rittsu, sena!” the duo were broken from their reverie, leo using his free hand to wave them over, “c’mere! if you’re gonna have a moment, let us be a part of it! i wanna give sena kisses too- _ah_ , and rittsu of course!” 

ritsu snorted, “tsukippi isn’t our king anymore though, so we don’t have to listen to your orders, right~?” even though he’d said that, ritsu still linked his arms under izumi’s, pulling him to stand back up with him, “what does suu-chan think?” 

tsukasa looked like a deer in the headlights for a second, eyes darting between ritsu, izumi and then leo. when he settled on a response, tsukasa let out a small sigh, “i agree with leo-senpai. we’ve been separated for a while, so it would be good to have us all close together again. plus, ritsu-senpai - you were in the bedroom with narukami-senpai too, so i didn’t get to see a lot of you this evening either.” 

the vampire and the older model had already crossed the room at this point, ritsu slinking to sit on the floor with a low chuckle. “suu-chan’s needy today too, hmm. it’s like you’re all in heat, seriously.” as he said that, ritsu planted his chin on leo’s shoulder, letting himself bury in the former leader’s hair. he quickly moved his hands up to free his ginger locks from the tie leo kept it in, resulting in a breathy laughed response of “rittsu’s the same, aren’t you!” 

on the sofa, izumi lifted up leo’s legs with relative ease. he sat beneath them, letting his fellow graduate continue to use three of them as a makeshift surface. 

“welcome back, izumi-chan.” he smiled lazily at her. izumi definitely looked a lot more relaxed now, something she presumed ritsu was to thank for. 

“mm. i should be saying that to you.” she beckoned him to move closer to her, smiling as their arms slotted comfortably beside each other’s. 

when was the last time they’d all been properly together like this, arashi wondered to herself? with how individualistic knights were in nature, their time as a five had decreased since they were all in yumenosaki. countries kept her apart from izumi and leo at times, having to settle for texts sent in the middle of the night and fumbled video calls on the rare opportunity they all had free time. even back home, modelling jobs and work with the new knights recruits meant she didn’t get to see ritsu or tsukasa as much as she used to. even so, it was moments when they were together like this that she regarded as special. all of them, truly-

she watched on as ritsu pressed his lips to the side of leo’s neck, forcing a litany of breathy giggles out of the composer. he mumbled something about how ticklish it was, squirming in his fellow members’ laps as he did so. tsukasa pouted, interjecting about how much of a pain it was to let leo relax on them if he was going to be like this; ritsu removed himself from leo’s neck enough to properly look up at tsukasa, cheekily offering _”suu-chan the chance to squirm in our laps instead”_ , the redhead gasping in a mixture of embarrassment and offense. izumi leaned over to pinch ritsu’s cheek, complaining about how _totally annoying_ it was to have leo moving too much and how _entirely_ at fault he was going to hold ritsu accountable if the ginger managed to injure any of them somehow. 

arashi found herself giggling at the sight of it all. “you guys really can’t function without me, hm?” she asked, heart swelling fondly simply being here with her stupid boyfriends. they were _her_ silly, stupid boyfriends above all.

“nope~ without you, they’d make _me_ reach everything on the top shelf so...”

in unified offense, izumi and tsukasa both cried out, _”don’t compare our heights to leo’s!”_ causing the ginger to let out a whine in mock-hurt. he kicked at izumi’s sides briefly whilst swatting upwards at tsukasa. “what was that?! i can’t forgive people who call me short, you know! rittsu, naru, look away! i’m gonna have to declare war on these traitors and call for another judgement!” 

“you absolutely can _not_ call for judgement just because we called you short, leo-senpai!” 

“i can and i will! this is a revolt, straight from your most trusted knight! how do you like that one, _ou-sama?_ i’m gonna rally up the troops against you, then you’ll be grovelling on your knees to apologise!” 

ritsu threw his hands up playfully in surrender, chuckling as he spoke, “mhm. it looks like i’ll be fighting on tsukippi’s side this time around then~” he stuck his tongue out at izumi and tsukasa to further express this, grinning all the while. “sorry boys. someone’s gotta stick with him before he tries to recruit knight killers again.” 

“you’re _weak_ , kuma-kun.” izumi stuck his tongue out back. “if you want to be lumped in with the shortie then be our guest.” leo cried out in indignation. shouting out _again! you called me short again sena!_ izumi pushed away his fellow graduate’s kicks, albeit complaining about it under his breath in the process.

“i see how it is. we’ve lost a worthy ally in you, ritsu-senpai, but i suppose it can’t be helped. i...would rather not see [knight killers] back again either.” tsukasa nodded, somehow still coming across as chivalrous as ever as he spoke. she snorted at his serious demeanor, not having the decency to feel any trace of shame when tsukasa’s gaze landed back on her, “and you, narukami-senpai? will you be fighting on the side of justice with sena-senpai and i, as a fellow tall person?” 

she looked between izumi and tsukasa, their eyes both expectant. of course, so were leo and ritsu’s, although she figured they had already had the same thought as her as this conversation divulged. she thought about it for a moment, weighing up the consequences of her actions before letting out a free-spirited laugh. 

“well, tsukasa-chan’s definitely a growing boy. as for izumi-chan…” she met his eyes, “you aren’t _that_ much taller than leo-chan...right? if we’re fighting fairly.” 

_“oi!”_

as izumi began huffing and sighing beside her, leo cheering for their precious queen for ‘exposing sena’, she grinned, finding herself settling back easily into a normal swing of things as far as knights interactions went. beside her, it seemed to be dawning on tsukasa just how short izumi actually was, and in comparison how much taller he was growing than his senpais. she locked eyes with ritsu, the vampire concealing his laughter behind his hand at how the situation was quickly growing hectic, yet bringing them to some sort of normalcy. 

mhm. narukami arashi _truly_ loved these boys, just as much as they loved her too.

**Author's Note:**

> title from live again by mori calliope 
> 
> happy arashi day nyall


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